Page 26 of Forged

Nick found himself smiling and feeling lighter, even though it didn’t make any sense.

Except it did make sense if he could just let himself acknowledge the truth that was staring him in the face.

“Mum was shocked when I told her I was joining a coven back when I was eighteen,” Bax said. “She accused me of being a witch, which I guess technically I am, and said she wouldn’t speak to me until I saw sense, as she called it.”

“Obviously, you didn’t,” Nick said.

Bax shrugged. “I believe what I believe. She’s had to accept that. But it was painful to have to go through those years when she disapproved of me. She saw sense eventually. She did marry a Hawthorne, after all, and Dad convinced her it was in our blood to do whatever we want to do. Your mum will come around, too.”

Nick hummed doubtfully. His mum was stubborn.

Bax swayed closer to them as they walked, then reached for Nick’s hand. Nick flinched away from the unexpected gesture at first, but he recovered and slowly slipped his hand into Bax’s. Bax was definitely a witch. There was more magic in holding his hand as they walked than he’d ever encountered before.

More than that, Bax immediately came up with the perfect solution to his weekend problem.

“You know there’s a winter festival over in Maidstone this weekend,” he said. “I’ve never been, but I hear it’s a lot of fun. Food, games for the kids, shops selling all sorts of things. We could all go.”

Nick’s eyebrows shot up and he gaped at Bax. “You’d actually want to give up your weekend to chase me and the kids around a winter festival?”

Bax smiled and shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”

Another thrill of excitement shot through Nick. If Bax was willing to spend time with the kids as well as him, maybe there really could be something between them.

Bax stayed true to his word. Saturday morning, he showed up bright and early on Nick’s doorstep, ready to help stuff the kids into their coats so that they could set out for Maidstone and the winter festival.

“You’re getting pretty good at that,” Nick said, nodding to Bax as he unbuckled Macy from her car seat and lifted her into his arms.

“Who would have imagined,” Bax replied with a wry laugh.

Nick tried not to read more into the comment than was there. Was Bax just humoring him where the kids were concerned to get into his pants or something? Bax wasn’t a natural with kids, but he’d been doing alright. Maybe it was all a show, or maybe it would grow old and he’d change his mind and bugger off.

“Ooh! I smell caramel!” Bax said to Macy. “Can toddlers eat caramel candies?”

“Maybe a little,” Nick said, lifting Jordan into his arms and using his hip to shut the car door. “Fair warning, she’ll make a complete mess of it.”

“I think I’m up to the challenge,” Bax said with a wink as they headed off toward the booths and shops.

Nick was worried Bax would get bored of carrying Macy around, that the amount of attention kids needed would ruin the entire experience for him. He would have brought one or both of the buggies with them for the kids, but there were a lot of peoplewandering up and down the high street and the buggies would have been more trouble than they were worth.

At the same time, there was something deeply satisfying about him and Bax working together to keep the kids entertained while they wandered through the festival. Jordan and Macy were too young for most of the activities, though Jordan did spend five minutes completely absorbed in coloring a snowflake at one of the tables. Five minutes was about his upper limit for attention span, though.

“Do you want a coffee?” Bax asked Nick at one point, after they’d been wandering for nearly half an hour.

Nick twisted away from where he and Jordan had been looking through a shop window at a display of candies to find Bax staring longingly at the coffee shop across the way. With an inward wince, Nick realized he’d barely paid any attention to Bax at all.

“I wish,” he said, shuffling Jordan in his arms as he started to squirm and whine while reaching for the candy window. “I’m not sure I have enough hands for this one and a cup of coffee.”

“I could hold it for you,” Bax said, his eye dancing with mirth and suggestion.

Before the teasing could even land, Macy wriggled in his arm, trying to get down. Instead of flirting and throwing around innuendo, Bax had to focus on not letting Macy fall.

It wasn’t what he wanted. Nick was sure of it, though he tried to fight the thought off. He heard his mum’s voice in his head saying that young men should be free to live their own lives. That didn’t just apply to him. Bax shouldn’t have to be tied down to a man with two small children. He was used to an adult world.

“Oh! Look. The coffee shop has hot chocolates, too. Could the kids have those?” Bax asked.

Nick admired his determination to carry on and give them all a treat.

“We could try,” he said. “I think I have some spare sippy cups in here that we could put the hot chocolate in.”

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